Emergency gas-valve.



GEORGE R. NIXON, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

EMERGENCY GAS-VALVE.

. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 24,

Application filed January 30, 1917. Serial No. 145,445.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. NIXON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsfield, in the county of Berkshire and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inEmergency Gas-Valves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a shut-ofi' or valve more particularlydesigned for use in emergency in shutting off the supply of illuminatinggas supplied in the interior of buildings.

Its principal object is to provide a device of the character described.which may be operated by control means provided exteriorly of thebuilding in a position safe and convenient for access in case of fire.

One portion of my device concernsa shutoff or valve which is attached tothe supply pipe or conduit conveying illuminating or other combustiblegas to the interior of a. building. Said portion may be attached to thesupply pipe at any convenient point inside or outside of the building,but for purposes of convenience is preferably arranged near thefoundation wall within the building where it is most remote from heatand consequent fusion in case of a conflagration. Said portion isadapted to be attached to the supply pipe to form a conduit throughwhich all gas supplied to the premises is required to pass and may beentirely out off.

The other portion of my device concerns an auxiliary attachment forcontrolling the action of the valve portion whereby the gas supply maybe effectually shut oflat the valve at any instant. This auxiliaryattachment is arranged to extend from the valve portion to any one ormore points within or without the building convenient for access.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein I have shown apreferredform of embodiment of my invention,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan vieW of a portion of a building suppliedwith illuminating gas; showing the gas supply pipe with my inventionoperatively connected therewith;

Fig. 2, a central vertical section of the valve portion on an enlargedscale,'takcn on the line A-A of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3, a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 4. a detail view of the outer end of the auxiliary portion: and

F ig. 5, a central vertical section of-a modified form of diaphragm forthe valve porchamber 2 provided with an inlet port-3 for connection withagas supply pipe'l, and a separate gas outlet chamber 5 provided with anoutlet port 6 for connection with a gas conduit or pipe 7, the saidchambers 2, 5,

being connected by an opening or passage 8 through the partitional wallor structure 9 intervening said chambers. I

The admission and flow of gas from the inlet chamber 2 through theopening or passage 8 into the outlet chamber 5 is controlled by means ofa valve 10, which operatesto open or close the passage 8 in themannerhereinafter described, said passage, when open, being ofsuflicient size to allow all gas to pass into the outlet chamber 5 asrapidly as it is supplied to the inlet chamber 2.

The partitional wall 9 separating the inlet and outlet chambers isformed witha horizontal vertically arranged to receivethe upright stem12 of the valve 10, the lower face of the wall 9 being suitably beveledaround the lower end of the passage 8 to form a seat 13 for the head ofthe valve when the passage is closed.

A shown, the valve stem 12 is extended upward through the inlet chamber2 through a bore 14 provided in an over head wall 15, which separatesthe said lower chamber from a separate or pressure chamber 16 providedin the upper portion of the casing portion 11 in which the passage 8. is

1, the upper extremity of the valve stem 12 being carried to a 'pointcentrally of said pressure chamber and det-achably secured .to-

a flexible diaphragm 17 extended horizontally across the top of thebody-portion of the casing l and between said body-portion and a casinghead 18 detachably secured thereto by suitable marginally arranged.screws .19, 19, etc. Said diaphragm 17 is arranged to divide thepressure chamber .16 into separate compartments which communicate witheach other by a continuous lateral duct 20 provided through the wall ofthe casing body 1 and casing head 18, the wall of the casing head beingthickened as at 21 for the purpose, whereby the gas pressure in saidcompartments may be equalized. To control the relative pressure of thegas in these compartments,-howevei',

I provide, for example, a threaded'bore 22 through the wall of thecasing body I' -and terior of the casing, said bore 22 being fitted witha screw 23 of larger diameter than the duct 20 and controlled from theexterior of the casing and having its inner end arranged to penetratetransversely through said duct and normally to seat tightly in theopposite wall thereof, where-. by the passage of gas between the twocompartments of the chamber 16 through said duct may be controlled atwill.

The upper compartment of the pressure chamber 16 is provided with anoutlet port- 21, which is normally closed, said port being connected bya pressure relief pipe 25, forming part of the auxiliary portion of mydevice, to the atmosphere, while the lower compartment of said chambercommunicates with the inlet chamber 2 by a transverse opening 26 throughthe partitional wall 15, which allows equalization of pressure at alltimes therebetween. I further provide for free communication at alltimes between the upper compartment of the pressure chamber 16 and theoutlet chamber 5 by a duct 27, similar to the duct 20, constructed inthe wall of the casing body 1 and the casing head 18, the latter beingthickened, as at 28, for this purpose.

Access to the valve 10 at its upper end is provided through the casinghead 18 by the removal of the relief pipe 25, while access to the lowerend of the valve is secured by means of asuitable tapped bore providedin the bottom of the casingin alinement with the valve and of suflicientsize to receive the valve in case of need for its removal, said borebeing normally closed by a screw plug 29.

The diaphragm 17 which is preferably constructed of leather, but may beformed of corrugated sheet-metal 30, as illustrated in Fig. 5, or othersuitably flexible or flexibly constructed material, is preferablyreinforced centrally around the valve stem 12 by rigid plates or disks31, 32, of metal or other suitable substance, disposed on opposite sidesof the diaphragm to provide a suf-. ficiently firm support for thevalve.

The screw 23, for opening and closing the duct 20. is preferablyprotected at its outer end against tampering and accidental displacementby an interiorly threaded cap 33 adapted to screw onto an exteriorlythreaded flange 3%.provided laterally 0n the casng around the bore 22.

The auxiliary portion of my device com able and accommodated to theparticular requirements of each case. Said pipe is here- V l in shown(Fig. 1) to extend through the communicating from said duct 20 to theex,

wall 35 of the building at a convenient point 'ab,o ve.,thefoundation36. and to any point outside of the building convenient and safe foraccess in case of fire. lVhile I have shown only one such relief'pipe orconduit, it should be expressly understood that I do not limit myinvention thereto, but that any number of such pipes or conduits, or

branches thereof, to communicate with the screw cap 38, which isprovided with a cen tral opening 39 in the top, said cap being adaptedto secure in position a frangible disk 40 placed over the end of thepipe 25 to seal the same normally against the admission of air or theescape of gas.

In the arrangement of my device, as illustrated in Fig. 1, a gas supplypipe 4 communicates through the foundation wall of the building from theexterior to a meter 41 within, the valve portion of my device, as at 1,being connected to the supply pipe at a point intermediate said meterand foundation wall. The auxiliary attachment including the relief pipe25 is attached to the valve portion in the manner hereinbefore describedand is carried through the wall 35 of the building and communicates withthe exterior at a point above the foundation wall. I

The valve 10, when not restrained by the upper pressure of gas upon thediaphragm 17, is free to gravitate downward to the position indicated indotted lines, thus opening the passage 8 for free communication betweenthe inlet and outlet chambers.

The gas supplied through the pipe 4 first enters the inlet chamber 2 andpasses thence through the opening 26, in the upper wall 15, into thelower compartment of the pressure chamber 16, thus forcing the diaphragm17 and valve 10 upward, closing communication between the inlet andoutlet chambers through the passage 8. As the supply of gas is thuseffectually excluded from the out' let pipe 7 it is necessary to openthe valve 10. This I accomplish by admitting gas from the lowercompartment of the pressure chamber to its upper compartment through theduct 20, which is controlled by the shut-off screw 23, which is operatedby the temporary removal of the cap 33. When the gas is admitted totheupper compartment of the pressure chamber 16, thus I downwardibyea-at equalizing .the

0f e p sml ,-lthe va ll dr psi. ity, opni ia e s e 8 and restoring freecommunication between the inlet and b en; :ehamiif gas threugh'th'e'pOI'tQt a end thereof; When thepressure'of gas the pressure chamber16 hjas been thus equalized the screw- 23 'is permanently close the duct20.

The gas is now free topass atofth 6ut{- isfre'e to flow let chamber5'and pipe 7 ,j'and through the valveportion "of my device:

without interruption or changefin gh fplosig tion of its parts.Thee'quahzation 0 pressure in the compartments'offthe pres} sure chamber16 is maintained constant after the duct 20 has been closed, by means ofthe duct 27, communicating from the outlet chamber 5 to the uppercompartment of the pressure chamber 16,"which is constantly open andreplenishes any gas which may escape.

In case of emer ency, such as fire which threatens to fuse t e gaspiping within the building, the auxiliary portion of my device isemployed to entirely shut off the supply of gas at the valve portion.This is accomplished by simply rupturing the frangible disk 40 providedat the outlet end of the pipe 25 with a knife or other convenientimplement, which is thrust into the aperture 39 provided in the cap 38.

When the disk 40 is punctured, the gas, which is sealed under pressurewithin the pipe 25 and the upper compartment of the pressure chamber 16,is released thereby permitting the valve 10 to move upward under theunopposed pressure of the gas upon the underside of the diaphragm 17,and completely closing the passage 8 communicating with the outletchamber 5.

When it is desired to restore thegas sup ply, the frangible disk 40 isfirst removed and replaced. The operation of unseating the screw 23 inthe duct 20 is then repeated, and the gas pressure in both compartmentsof the pressure chamber 16 equalized, as above described, whereupon thevalve 10 again gravitates downward restoring com munication between thechambers 2, 5.

While I prefer to employ a frangible disk at the outlet end of thepressure relief pipe 25 for sealing the gas in the pressure chamber 16,it will be understood that the object of this feature of my inventionmay be accomplished by other suitable means, as for example a turn-cockor removable plug, but these and other like devices are objectionable asthey are liable to become set from long disuse or require special toolsfor operation.

I claim:

1. The combination with a conduit hav-V pressurefupon"opposite sides" iwith an inlet and i an outlet and I opening and closing said passage,--ofmeans for pera g said valve and including flammabl fgedfto divideparate' cpmpai'eaentsy ,ni ec 'mg the val e and sa'id dia- Y mea foradmitting Qhousi i 2 i 'P J YI vented" by, the sealed j disk 140? at-theoutlet ,againfoperated; to

petti ing a vp as, th-rahftqgs and providedvalve for 2. The combination"of a housing having an, inlet a d an u et a communicating I between theinlet i and; the

aclosable passage outlet, a valve within the housing for 1 open-' ingand closing said passage and having a valve-stem projecting through thewall of the housing, a separate housing inclosing the outer end of thevalve-stem, a flexible diaphragmatic member arranged to divide saidlast-mentioned housing into separate compartments and adapted to operatesaid valve and Valve-stem, a passage communicating between saidcompartments to equalize the gas pressure on opposite sides of thediaphragmatic member, a valve for opening and closing said last-menti0ned passage, and means for controlling the first-mentioned valve,including an outlet communicating from one of the compartments in saiddiaphragm-housing to the atmosphere, and means for opening and closingsaid last-mentioned outlet without affecting the valve controlling thepassage communicating between the compartments on opposite sides of thediaphragmatic member.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a valveportion, including a conduit having a passage therethrough for thetransmissionof gas and having an inlet and an outlet, a valve forcontrolling said passage, means for operating said valve and including ahousing having a chamber therein, a flexible diaphragmatic member withinsaid chamber and dividing the same into two compartments, means forconnecting the valve with the diaphragmatic mem' ber, and means foradmitting gas to each of comprising a separate conduit or pipe forprovldlng commun1cat1on between one of the compartments in said pressurechamber and the atmosphere, an air-tight frangible member for sealingthe outlet end of said last mentioned conduit or pipe. and means forsecuring-said frangible member in exposed position.

4. In a device of the class described. a shell or housing, an inletchamber Within the housing having an inlet port permanentlyopen, anoutlet chamber within the housing having an outletport permanently open,a passage for communicating between said chambers, a valve foropeningandclosing said passage and having a valve-stem, a third chamber Withinsaid housing having an opening through its wall to receive saidvalve-stem, a flexible diaphragmatic member Within said third chamberand dividing the same'into separate compartments having no communicationwith each other Within said third chambensaid diaphragmatic member beingarrangedv to operate said valve and valve stem, a passage communicatingbetween said inlet chamberand one of the compartments of said thirdchamber and being permanently open. a separate passage p ovidedexteriorly of said third chamber for commuand being permanently open,said last-dc scribed compartment of the third chamber having an outletport communicating with the atmosphere and being normally closed. andmeans for opening said outlet port.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiiix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE R. NIXON. \Vitnesses:

JNo. J. WHITTLESEY, MwHAEn L. EISNER.

